Latest news and discussion from the R&D community revolutionizing accessible images

Imageshare Update

2018 October 30

by Sue-Ann Ma

By now, many of you are familiar with Imageshare, an open source platform DIAGRAM created for educators and consumers to find and share alternative image resources related to key science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) concepts. The tool aims to curate STEM materials frequently encountered in the classroom and allows users to search the collection using accessible metadata (e.g., contributor, resource type, target grade(s), and language). The new version of Imageshare also adds the ability for educators and end users to add instructional teaching notes, production notes, as well as usability ratings and comments for specific resources.

Imageshare was soft launched at the end of August and is now live and ready for more content! More STEM resources will continue to be added, with content feedback to be provided by additional students and educators in the coming months. To date, the College of the Desert and employees of LightHouse for the Blind in San Francisco have already provided input on the usability of 3D-printed models identified and produced by DIAGRAM’s Tactile Working Group. Further testing with end users has been scheduled with the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and other academic institutions aiming to better understand accessible educational alternatives. In addition to contributing and evaluating content, members of the Tactile Working Group have also helped test the accessibility and usability of the Imageshare platform, and we thank this group for their active participation the development of this tool.